


Fortune's Fools

by Trash2k18



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, Skinny!Steve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-05-05 04:19:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14609175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trash2k18/pseuds/Trash2k18
Summary: Two sides of the same class both think they're right,At Shield High School, where we take our stand.A long asked but unanswered question is brought into new light,Causing a series of events to go unplanned.Each side elects a different headWho fall for each other, but at a cost.And because of their actions, they do fall into bed;But it's also because of them that the conflict defrosts.The events leading up to how their love came to exists,And the conflict between the two bands,Which, without their love, agreement would have been missedIs what you'll read in the story made grand.And so, if you'll stay with me until the close,I'll hope that you enjoyed the show(s).Or, "A high school Shakespeare club angrily splits into two groups when they can't agree on the correct interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. One group thinks it's a cautionary tale about the stupidity of youth and shallow lust; the other group thinks it's a beautiful tragedy about poisonous hatred conquered by love. Reconciliation seems impossible--then a person from one groups falls in love with a person from the other."





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, just wanted to state that this is supposed to be skinny!steve, although I'm not currently the best at writing it, but as the story progresses, I'll hope to get better. 
> 
> also, it's supposed to talk place about a month into the school year, so let's say around September. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~n

“So, President Hayes. Smash or pass?”

Steve scoffed. “Is that even a question? Smash!”

Peggy almost choked. “Really? You’re gonna smash Hayes?”

“I mean, yeah. Why not? He was pretty good looking when he was younger. Plus, he was a major of the 23rd Ohio Regiment back in the Civil War and, as president, signed the Act to Relieve Certain Legal Disabilities of Women, clearing the way for female attorneys to argue cases in any U.S. federal court.” Steve, Tony, and Peggy were currently sitting at a table, enjoying their free time before they had to meet for their club.

“And you know this why?” Tony inquired, taking Steve's glasses and playing with them. 

Steve shrugged, taking his glasses back. "Sometimes I get bored." He cleared his throat. "Alright, what about you guys? Smash or pass?" 

"I think I'm going to need to see a photo reference before I make any rash decisions." Tony said, already using his phone to search up a photo. 

"Damn," Tony whistled, "Golden Boy was right. Hayes was pretty hot when he was younger." 

"Let me see," Peggy said, reaching for Tony's phone, her British accent distinct among their American ones. "Yeah, he's pretty hot." She gave Tony's phone back. "Wouldn't kick him out of bed." She went back to completing tonight's English homework. Peggy gets her accent from her parents. She was originally born somewhere in London and moved here when she was 5-years-old and quickly became one of Steve's closest girl friends. 

"Wouldn't kick who out of bed?" Sam said, sitting between Tony and Peggy, who automatically made room for him. 

  
"President Hayes," Steve said, "We're going through our past presidents while paying smash or pass. Wanna join?" Steve used his hands to gesture at the three, now four of them. 

Sam shrugged. "Sure, why not. Which president is next? Is there any sort of order, or are we just dealing at random?" 

"Going at random," Tony said, fiddling with his phone. "Got any guys?"

"Uhh, what about, uh, number 15? James Buchanan?" 

"Pass," they all said in union, aside from Sam. Sam, instead looked at three in confusion. "Why?" he asked.

"Well, for one," Tony said, casually putting one finger out, "He was not the best looking, older or younger. Two," he added another finger, "He never married nor had any kids. So he basically had few romantic relations with women  _or_ men throughout his life. I mean, what kind of person could do that?"

"Plus," Steve said, giving Tony, who added a third finger, a  _'Really?'_ look before looking back at Sam, "He was  _such_ a bad president." 

"Really?" Sam raised his eyebrows, "What did he do that was so bad?"

"Alright, well," Peggy started, "During his tenure, seven Southern states seceded from the Union and the nation teetered between Civil War. When he became president, he attempted to keep the peace between those who were anti-slavery and those who were pro-slavery, but the only thing that did was cause tension to rise. Because of his incapability to stop the Southern states' drive toward secession, most historians, myself included, consider his presidency to be a failure. After Abraham Lincoln was elected to succeed him, South Carolina seceded and the Confederacy was soon established. And a little over a month after he left office, so Lincoln could take over, the Civil War started."

"Jesus Christ, Peggy, how do you know so much about him?" Steve asked, an impressed but surprised look on his face and awe in his voice, his glasses slipping down his nose. 

Peggy just shrugged, a smirk on her face. "Like you said Steve, sometimes I get bored."

"Well, even though I'd love to continue this history lesson," Sam checked the time on his phone, "It's about time for our club to start, so we better get going."

"Alright, but first, you have to say what you'd do. Smash or pass." Tony said. He took his phone back into his hand. "If it helps, here's a picture." He showed Sam. 

Sam analyzed the photo. "Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with you guys. Pass."

The four of them gathered up their stuff and walked back into the school, which was now practically empty. They walked towards room 107, AP Literature, where their club was held after school. Shakespeare Club. 

Shakespeare Club was pretty much exactly as it sounded like. It was formed in freshman year by Steve and has been going strong ever since. His then English teacher, Mr. Phillips, told the class that they would be doing a lesson on Shakespeare. Being a lover of Shakespeare, Steve was excited. 

Until they actually got to the lesson. 

By lesson, Mr. Phillips basically meant something they would have 5 weeks for, that would mainly be focused on only one of Shakespeare's plays,  _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ and would have a reenactment of one of the scenes as a final. They spent the first week watching the actual movie, with Mr. Phillips pausing to explain what was happening in the scenes. And the next three, nearly four weeks reading through the play, with Mr. Phillips once again pausing after most every scene so they can watch it from the movie and take notes on the differences between the movie and the play. And they were only given basically a week and a half to practice their scenes. Also, the kids in Steve's class didn't exactly have the best acting abilities, and Phillips, who is in no way a drama teacher and doesn't know that much about acting, was grading the kids on their emotions, memorization, staging, and other non-important stuff. 

All il all, that "Shakespeare lesson" sucked. But it made Steve want to actually dive even deeper into Shakespeare and his backstory and all the play's he's written. 

So, when the second semester was beginning, Steve decided he wanted to start a Shakespeare club. He talked to his friends, asked them to join the club, which they reluctantly agreed to (though now they admitted that they enjoy it), and then he hunted down all the English teachers and tried to find one that would both listen to him and was a fan of Shakespeare. That's when Steve thought of Mr. Coulson. 

Mr. Coulson was one of the AP Literature teachers at Shield High School. He, like Steve, was a fan of Shakespeare. But he was also a fan of Shakespeare. But he was also a fan of Steve, of the way that, as a freshman, Steve was able to gather a following for a club that he was clearly very passionate about. Mr. Coulson and Steve's mom, Sarah, we're also pretty close, so Mr. Coulson knew of some of the terrific things that Steve did as a child and has had to go through during his life. Coulson agreed, talking to the administrators and getting the club all set up, so by the beginning of spring back, Shakespeare Club was up and running, with teacher-supervisor Mr. Coulson and president Steve Rogers. 

Long story short, that's how Shakespeare Club came to be, four years later, and it's still a big success. Steve is still the president, vice president is Natasha Romanoff and everything else consists of their friends. There's the seniors: Steve, Tony Stark, Peggy Carter, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, T'Challa, Thor, Bruce Banner, Natasha, Scott Lang, and Bucky Barnes. Then there's Thor's step-brother Loki, who's a junior. The pair of sophomore twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, who Clint tends to occasionally parent. And the only two freshman Peter Parker, who Tony tends to treat as his very own son, and Shuri, T'Challa's younger sister. 

"Hey, Mr. Coulson. How's your day been?" Steve asked as they walked into his classroom. Mr. Coulson was also now Steve's AP Literature. Most everyone was there, aside from Tony and T'Challa. Peter and Shuri were in the back fiddling with some sort of mechanical device. Thor and Loki seemed to be having some sort of personal debate. And most everyone else was minding their own business. 

"It's been good, Mr. Rogers, thank you for asking. How are doing?" Mr. Coulson looked up from the homework he was grading to give Steve a warm smile. 

"I'm going just fine." Steve gave Mr. Coulson an easy smile. "Can't wait to see what you have planned for today, sir." Steve kept his smile as he turned around and went to go sit down in his unassigned assigned seat next to Sam. Sam was Steve's closest guy friend, who he had known since he was young. 

"Speaking of plans, Sam, when are you gonna act on those feelings of yours?" Steve smirked at Sam, who groaned and lightly banged his head against the desk.

"When are  _you_ gonna shut up about that?" Sam turned his head so only his cheek was laying on the desk as he made eye contact with Steve, who got his sketchbook out and on the desk. "There's nothing going on, no feelings, nothing, I  _swear_."

"Hey Sam, do you mind if I take this seat?" It was T'Challa, who had just arrived in with Tony. T'Challa was gesturing to the seat on the opposite side of Sam, which was indeed empty. 

"U-Uh, yeah, sure. G-Go on ahead." Sam stutters as he whips his head up from the desk, a blush beginning to grow in his face. 

"Thanks Sam." T'Challa gives Sam a warm smile before sitting down, facing the front of the classroom, and going on his phone. 

Sam looks back over at Steve, who's wearing a shit eating grin. 

"You were sitting?"

"Shut up," Sam said, putting his head back on the desk. Steve went back to his sketchbook, thinking of what to draw. He looked back over at Sam, who was still laying face down on the desk, and got inspiration.

"Alright, guys," Mr. Coulson said from the front of the classroom as he leaned against his podium. "We just finished reading  _Romeo and_ _Juliet_ , and it's time for everyone's favorite part: What is the meaning behind the story. Any idea?" Mr. Coulson looked around the room, silence being the only sound. Then someone spoke up. 

"Well," all eyes turned to the sound of the voice coming from the back of the room. It was Bucky Barnes. Steve had never really paid much attention to him, just knew that he was a friend of a friend's and was one of the original to join the club when it was first made. Barnes ran a hand through his hair, which reached to just below his ears, longer than it had been since the last time Steve had seen him, before speaking. "I think the story is more of a cautionary tale, a lesson if you will, warning it's readers or watchers about the stupidity of youth and shallow lust.

Mr. Coulson hummed. "And why do you think that, Mr. Barnes?" 

Barnes shifted under the intensity of his classmates gazes, a bit uncomfortable. "Do you mind if I cuss a little?" Mr. Coulson shook his head. "By all means," he waves his hand forward, a signal for Barnes to continue. 

Barnes continued and cleared his throat. "For starters, the story centered around two kids who "fell in love" at first sight at a masquerade party held by Juliet's own father. A party which was crashed by the three troublemakers of the Montague clan: Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio, because their buddy Romeo was already in love with some other dame who was interested in none other than Jesus Christ." The more Barnes spoke, the more intense his words became. A couple kids chuckled at what his words were insinuating. 

He continued. "Then, after almost being thrown out by Tybalt, who is one of the few people to actually have some common sense, Romeo sees Juliet across the room and is just like 'I have to have her,' and Juliet's probably thinking, 'Hey, he's new, he's cute, I just have to have him.' And so they meet, they stare, and like that," Barnes snaps. "they're making out as if they're not enemies and surrounded by people who they should definitely not be kissing in front of. Oh, and they also know absolutely nothing about each other and Juliet is technically engaged to someone else, Paris, who is properly introduced once they two finally decide to take a breath. 

"Long story short, they do a complicated battle of 'you want me, but you can't have me' until the day after the party, they get married. However, before they can officially fuck as a married couple, Tybalt has to go and kill Mercutio, causing Romeo to go into a rage over the death of his secret boyfriend and kills Tybalt. Because of this, Romeo gets banished from Verona, and Juliet cries, not over the tragic loss of her cousin, but because she can't get laid anytime soon. Meanwhile, everyone else is upset about what they actually should be upset about — Tybalt  _fucking_ dying. 

"Anyway, before Romeo moseys on down to Mantua, he decided that he needs to have one last fuck and steaks into Juliet's bedroom. After they almost get caught the morning after, Romeo scurries on down to Mantua. As soon as he leaves, Juliet's parents barge in, telling her that she's going to be married, no questions asked, to Paris in only a couple of days. She throws a fit, her dad becomes enraged, and she reluctantly agrees to marry Paris, with some circumstances of her own. 

"She runs on down to Friar Lawrence, who continually tells the children to leave room for Jesus but helps them anyway, and tells him her situation. After much thought, he helps her by giving her this potion that'll out her in a come for a couple of hours and promises that, when she wakes up, he'll be there with Romeo and they can go live happily ever after some place else. He says that he'll deliver a message to Romeo about their plans and why he shouldn't freak out.

"'Cept the letter never gets fucking delivered because a shit ton of people get fucking sick right out of the fucking blue. So, as they're placing Juliet in the tomb, one of Romeo's forgotten friends sees and decided to deliver the news to Romeo that his wife Juliet is dead. Romeo freaks out and hunts down a guy to illegally sell him some poison which he plans to use to kill himself so he can be with Juliet again. 

He arrives back in Verona and rushes to Juliet's tomb, where he's interrupted by none other than Paris. They fight and Romeo adds another person to his body count. Paris' dying wish is, if Romero be merciful, to be laid next to Juliet, which Romeo does. But then Romeo goes around and stares at Juliet before monologuing, kissing Juliet's  _still warm lips because she's still fucking alive_ , and drinks the poison. As he falls to Juliet's other side, Friar Lawrence comes in, asses the situation, monologues, and watches as Juliet wakes up and completely ignores the dead Paris on one side and instead goes for the dead Romeo. Lawrence tells her that he'll get her to join a pack of nuns and  _everything will be perfectly fine_. Throwing another tantrum, Juliet lies to him by saying that she wants to give one last goodbye to her husband. Once he's gone, Juliet goes over to drink the empty poison bottle, the kisses Romeo — who's dead, might I add — and then finally takes Romeo's dagger and stabs herself to death."

Barnes takes a deep breath. "Anyway, the moral of my rant is that people who  _think_ they managed to find love at such a young age aren't  _really_ in love, but are more likely in lust. In fact, had they never had gotten married on day 2 of knowing each other, they would probably still be alive. Or if they had decided to get to know each other a little at first, they probably could've had a perfectly healthy relationship." As he finished, he shrugs himself deeper into his seat. 

"Very interesting perspective, Mr. Barnes." Mr. Coulson said as he stared at Bucky, much like the rest of the class was, "I like the way you think." He turned towards the rest of the class. "Does anyone else have any other ideas?" 

Steve looked up from his sketchbook, which now held a comic of San and T'Challa, and slowly raised a hand. "I have one." Steve said, confidence slowly finding its way into his voice. 

"Go ahead Mr. Rogers." Everyone turned from Barnes to Mr. Coulson to Steve, who began to feel a little uncomfortable and fiddled with his glasses before adding more details to the background. 

"Well, while I think that Barnes  _did_ have a very good point, I just don't think he got everything right." Steve shoots a quick apologetic look to Barnes before going back to his sketchbook and continuing. "I just think that instead of being about the stupidity of youth and shallow lust, that it's actually a beautiful tragedy and about how a poisonous hatred can be conquered by something as beautiful as love."

"Interesting. Do you have anything else to add?" Mr. Coulson asked as he leaned on his hand against the podium. 

"Yeah. Do you mind if I rant a little?" Steve looks back up to Mr. Coulson, who nods a no-not-at-all nod. Steve nodded and continued. "Well, look at the story like this. Instead of seeing it as two horny teenagers who got the hots for each other at first sight, imagine if this sort of story had taken place a couple years later, when they're older or something, or decades later. Wouldn't their love be just as valid?

"Imagine you're in their shows. You're at a party, you're socializing, you're having fun, and then you see them. They're across the room, they're minding their own business, and then they realize something and they look over at you. And the two of you are just standing there, admiring the other's beauty for the very first time, as you slowly gravitate toward each other. You don't realize, but you've slowly fallen in love with this complete stranger. 

"We've all experienced this, one way or another, at some point in our lives. You're in public, you're doing you're own thing, and then this person catches your eye and you get momentarily distracted. You keep watching them even as they walk right out of your life, which they never really got a chance to enter, and in the end, you end up forgetting about them. It won't be until later that you realize you've experienced love at first sight."

Steve took a deep breath. "This is what happened with Romeo and Juliet. Except, neither of them ended up walking out of the other's lives, but instead dived right into them, consequences be damned.

"And these two dove so deep into each other's lives that they completely stopped caring about everyone else. They realized their love was deep enough for them to get married on their second day of knowing each other. So what most people see as reckless and irresponsible, others see as beautiful and tragic.

"The beautiful part of their story is not just about the love that came to be, but  _how_ it came to be. There teenagers were denied certain aspects of their lives simply because their parents hated each other's guts. They were told to do this and not to do that and  _don't talk to them, they're part of the other side and we don't associate ourselves with them._ It was amazing how a beautiful thing such as love was able to blossom in something as hurtful as hatred. 

"The tragic part of their story is not what everyone thinks it is. it's not only that they only knew each other for three days before killing themselves, though that is also admittedly sad, but that it took them  _killing_ themselves for their parents to realize how stupid whatever they were mad about is. As their kids bodies are laying in the tomb, the parents come together, where Lord Montague declares that his Lady has died due to grief caused by her sons banishment. Once they see their bodies, Lord Capulet and Lord Montague agree to not only end their long ass feud, but to also raise golden statues of their children in what is hoped to be a newly peaceful Verona. 

"My point is," Steve looked up from his comic and in Mr. Coulson's general direction, "the story of  _Romeo and Juliet_ isn't the stupid love story most people think it is, but it has a sort of stereotypical, but the hidden meaning seems to be that love doesn't just affect the people who have it, but can affect the people around them too. Just like how, the nearly positive relationship of Romeo and Juliet had a big enough effect to make their parents peaceful once again."

Mr. Coulson hummed, figuring that Steve was done talking. "Alright, so that makes two." He looked around the class. "Does anyone else have any other ideas?" The class remains silent, each girl silencing agreeing with either Barnes or Steve.

"Alright, well" Mr. Coulson clapped his hands, "Seeing as we only have two opinions, and each one is different, we need to decide on one. What do you guys say we have a little debate?" The class visibly perked up a little bit. "Alrighty. Let's start."

Mr. Coulson walked out from behind the podium and moved towards the door, where there was another foldable podium. He set this podium on the right side of the room and moved the wooden one that he was standing behind to the left side of the room. Then he went to the middle of the room, facing the class. 

"Rogers, Barnes, if you can please join me up here." 

Steve carefully rose from his chair, making sure to flip his sketchbook over so no one can see what he drew yet, before making his way to the front, adjusting his glasses as he went. Being as skinny as he was, Steve was able to make it to the front without bumping into anyone or anything, becoming anxious with all the attention back on him and begun to press his nails into the palms of his hands. 

"Alright Steve, you go the podium on the right side of the classroom," Steve stood behind the podium, putting some of his weight on it, "and Bucky you go to the left side of the classroom." Barnes did what Mr. Coulson said, standing behind the podium opposite Steve. Barnes gave Steve a small smile, which Steve returned. 

"Okay, so, everyone who agrees with Steve, go to his side of the classroom. Everyone who agrees with Bucky, go to his side. If you can't decide or just really don't care, just stand in the middle." As everyone moved around, Mr. Coulson moved to the back of the class and sat on one of desks, facing everyone. 

Natasha, Clint, Loki, Pietro, Peggy, Bruce, and Scott all went to Barnes' side, all standing somewhat behind him. Tony, Sam, Wanda, Thor, T'Challa, Peter, and Shuri went over to Steve's side, Sam coming up close to Steve's side and everyone else practically behind him. Both Barnes and Steve kept a neutral face the whole time, Steve's nails digging in harder. 

"Looks like we have a tie."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this is my first story that I've put on Ao3. I don't know how good my writing is, but I hope that it's good. Sorry that it's pretty wordy, it was intended to be a bit shorter. 
> 
> Also, all the information about the presidents is true, I did the research myself. 
> 
> If you want to check my Tumblr's, the main one I use is @ nerd-or-geek929 and my writing one, which I don't use as often, is @ always-fandom-writings
> 
> Tags will be added as the story goes on. I apologize for any mistakes in this chapter or the next, it's just me writing this by myself with occasional help from my older sister. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story!
> 
> ~n


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on Fortune's Fools:
> 
> Natasha, Clint, Loki, Pietro, Peggy, Bruce, and Scott all went over to Barnes' side, standing somewhat behind them. Tony, Sam, Wanda, Thor, T'Challa, Peter, and Shuri went over to Steve's side, Sam coming up close to Steve's side and everyone else practically behind him. Both Barnes and Steve kept a neutral face the whole time, Steve's nails digging in harder. 
> 
> "Looks like we have a tie."

Steve looked at Mr. Coulson, unsure what they should do now. This is the first time something like this has happened for a while, since freshman year, when they first started. There was usually a person or two who helps to tip the scale, but this time, it was even. The last time it happened it had ended in a nasty debate that lasted days.

"Now what?" Barnes asked. Everyone was looking at Mr. Coulson, no one entirely sure what was going to happen now. 

"Well, we know why Steve and Bucky are up there. Let's hear from one or two people about why  _they_ chose their sides." He looked between the two groups, his eyes landing on Peter, who was standing on Steve's side. 

"Peter, let's hear from you. How come you chose Steve's side?"

Peter looked up from where he was studying his hands, unconsciously forming little sweater paws with the ends of his jacket sleeves, at Mr. Coulson. "Uh, well, I chose Steve's side because I think his interpretation was a bit more accurate than Bucky's. No offense by the way." Peter said, looking briefly at Bucky for his apology, before continuing to divert his gaze. "People now always talk about how they were out and bumped into someone and were just immediately attracted to them. Whether you're young or you're old, you had to have experiences this at some point. If you say you've never experienced this, then there has to be a good chance you're lying. And, there have been plenty of instances where people get in a relationship and they  _help_ each other grow and get better. And sometimes they don't just help each other, but they somehow manage to help the people around them too. Plus, I'm a bit of an optimist, so I'd like to think that love can fill where other things are lacking."

Mr. Coulson nodded. "Thank you, Peter." He looked towards Bucky's side of the room, seeing Pietro. "Now, Pietro. What about you? Why are you on Bucky's side?"

Pietro, who was standing next to Loki, moved so he wasn't so much in the shadows. "I am on Bucky's side because, unlike Peter, I am a bit more pessimistic. But the pessimism was only a small part as to why I came to this side. Bucky's opinion was also a bit more realistic to real life. Most of the teenagers, in any lifetime, get together with each other because of their looks, and completely overlook the possibly shitty personality of their significant other. People can get so caught up in what they  _think_ a person's really like that they completely ignore what what they're  _really_ like." Pietro crossed his arms, leaving a little more back now that he's finished speaking. 

"Thank you, Pietro." Mr. Coulson adjusted himself so that he could look between the two groups. "Now, we've heard our original opinions, we've had you guys choose your side, and we've had one person from each side speak about why they chose their side. Would anyone else like to speak up?"

No one talked. No one moved. Steve's nails dug in a little bit harder, some blood beginning to sprout from where his palms rest on the podium. Sam reached one of his hands over to Steve's, lightly pulling his fingers away from his palm. Steve looked to Sam, giving him a small thankful smile before turning back to the front.

"Okay. Well, seeing as we're nearing the end of our club time, that's it for today. But when we meet up again, we  _will_ have to decide on the meaning of our play. For the rest of our time, feel free to do whatever. Until next time." Mr. Coulson got up from his spot on the desk and moved to go sit behind his own desk. Meanwhile, everyone else moved to sit back down in their own seats. 

"You good, dude?" Sam asked Steve as they sat down.

Steve looked at the palm of his hands, at the little half-moon indentations, the blood already pretty much dry. He wiped them on the tissue he grabbed before sitting down. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

Sam kept his eyes on Steve's hands. "You gotta stop doing that, man. That can't be healthy."

Steve wrapped his hands in the ends of his sleeves, forming sweater paws. "I know, I know. It's just . . . it's a habit, you know?" He took a deep breath, using a paw to push his glasses up. "Anyway, check this out." Steve gave his sketchbook to Sam, it's drawing still on the underside. "It's not completely done, but I figured you'd want to see what there's so far."

Sam flipped the sketchbook over and, upon seeing what it was, immediately angled the sketchbook away from T'Challa as a blush began to bloom. 

" _Dude_." Sam drawled out, awe in his voice. He swung his legs over so they were facing Steve and leaned in closed, Steve doing the same,

The sketchbook contained an unfinished comic, starring Sam and T'Challa, that played out like one of those commercials for Extra® gum. It started out with Sam, walking and talking with Steve and Peggy through the school hallway, Steve in the middle with Sam and Peggy on his sides. The next scene is of two shoulders colliding, followed by both Sam and the master bumper — T'Challa — now laying on the floor, looking confused until they see who bumped into them. They stare, before coming back to themselves and offering their help to the other and apologizing. Once they get situated and are both back on their feet, fake-Sam apologized once again before beginning to walk back with Steve and Peggy, embarrassment on his face, and behind the three of them, T'Challa wearing a face of disappointment, with surprise and confusion sprinkled in. 

Continuing slightly into the next page, they walk away from each other, fake-Peggy and Steve both punch Sam, nodding their heads behind them, where T'Challa is walking further and further away. Sam glanced back behind them before turning around, the rest of the scene unfinished, leaving it's reader — in this case, Sam — wanting more. 

"Damn, Steve. Each drawing you make is almost better than the last. And this one is just . . . amazing." He looked up from the sketchbook, closing it and putting it on his desk, and into Steve's eyes. "Are you going to finish this? Or are you just gonna leave me unsatisfied?"

"Well if anyones going to leave you unsatisfied, I think it would be T'-" Steve was caught off as Sam threw Steve's backpack at him. Thankfully, Steve didn't put any heavy textbooks inside, only folders, paper, and a few pencils and pencils. 

Steve chuckled, releasing his sweater paws as he readjusted his glasses, putting his backpack on the desk. "Fine, fine, okay. I won't say it." 

"Alright guys," Mr. Coulson said from where he stood behind his desk, "It's time. Go ahead and make your way out the door and towards your houses or the mall or wherever you kids like to hang after school." He sat back down as everyone else began to rise up, ready to leave. 

Steve put his backpack on his back, walking out the door with Sam, Peggy on his other side, pulling his sweatshirt tighter around himself. 

"You know, you do need to have a crush at some point." Sam pointed out as the three of them walked out of the school.

"Yeah, and why's that?" Peggy asked, the corner of her perfect red lipstick curling up.

"So I can have someone to tease back! Steve's always teasing me about my crush," Sam crossed his arms, "It's be nice to have someone to tease back."

"Oh please, Steve hasn't had a crush since that one girl back in third grade."

"Oh yeah. What was her name again? Daisy? Diana?"

"Can we stop talking about my non-existent love life and decide where we're going?" Steve grumbled. "And her name was Darcy. Darcy Lewis."

"Darcy! There we go! Thank you, Steven. Now, about where we're going. Wait, you still remember her last name?"

"Martinelli's?" Peggy put in, ignoring Sam's last comment.

"The boys nodded, saying "Yeah, sounds good." Martinelli's was a diner that they had been going to since they were young, and had been going by themselves since their parents let them.

"Are we going to meet there? Or all together?" Steve asked. 

"We can meet there. Unless you need a ride, Sam?" Peggy and Steve both looked at Sam, already knowing his answer. 

"Nah, I'm good. I don't trust those death machines that you both have."

"They're not death machine!" Steve and Peggy say at the same time. 

Sam held his hands up in a surrounding gesture. "Whatever you guys say. I'll see you there." He headed over towards his car, Peggy and Steve heading towards their motorcycles.

Steve owned a 1968 electra Glide Harley, which belonged to his grandfather and was a gift from his mother for sixteenth birthday. He hopped on, placing his helmet on his well, and sped towards the diner. 

The diner isn't that far from their school, located on just the outskirts of downtown. He managed to arrive there quickly, somehow managing to just barley beat Peggy there.

"How did you beat me here?" Peggy asked, her hair still perfect as she released it from her helmet.

"That's for me to know and for you to hopefully never find out." Steve adjusted his glasses, which had gotten soaked on the ride, pulling his backpack closer to him. Together, the two of them walked in. 

"Hello," the lady in the font greeted them, stretching out the word a little bit, a smile on her face, "What can I do for the two of you?"

"Hi, we'd like a table for three, please." Peggy said. 

"Alrighty," The lady grabbed three menu. "If you'll just follow me, I'll lead you to your table." She lead them to a table by the window, their bikes in their view, and saw Sam's car pull into the parking lot. "Go ahead and settle down, someone will be by in a bit." She said, before leaving to tend to other customers.

Steve and Peggy sat across from each other, two menus on her side and the one on his. Steve saw Sam come through the door and, seeing where his friends are sitting, makes way towards them. 

"Every single time we come here, you two always beat me. Even when we start at the same place." Sam slide into the spot next to Peggy, picking up his menu. 

"One of the perks of only having two wheels." Steve said, looking at his menu, a slight smile on his face. Martinelli's restaurant was inspired by the past couple decades, staring from the forties and ending in the nineties. The restaurant was sectioned off by years — 40s, 50s, 60s, all the way to the 90s — and each section was decorated by their corresponding years. The famous people and things and whatnot from that decade lined the walls and table and whatever else in that section. Hits from that decade also played, only loud enough to not disturb the other sections too much. Currently, they were sitting in the forties, one of Steve's favorite sections. 

"Hi, my name's Angie. I'll be your waitress for tonight." A voice said, causing them all to look up. The lady before them was of about average height, with shoulder length light brown hair. She was wearing the waiter uniform, light blue with tints of yellow, styled in an old time fashion, including a little hat. Next to her name tag was a little pin that said 'Hi, I'm new.' "What can I get started for you guys?" She looked towards Steve. 

"Hi, I'l have the cheeseburger with a side of fries, please." Steve said, putting his menu at the edge of the table. 

She looked at Sam. "I'll take the steak burger." He put his menu on top of Steve's. 

Angie looked at Peggy. "And for you?"

"Yes, I'll just have a cup of coffee."

"Aww, come on, Pegs," Steve whined, "Coffee is no dinner. Have a burger or something."

Peggy huffed in defeat. "Alright fine," She slid her menu on top of Sam's and looked at their waitress. After a moment, she smiled. "Surprise me."

"Will do," Angie returned the smile, now holding the menus in one hand. "Any drinks?"

"Chocolate shake?" Steve said. 

"Vanilla for me," said Sam. 

They all looked at Peggy. "Surprise?" Angie asked. Peggy gave a smile and a nod. "Alrighty. I'll be back in a bit." And with that, Angie left their table. 

"So . . ." Sam said, folding his arms and placing them on the table, facing Peggy. Steve leaned his head into his hands, facing Peggy as well. 

"What?" She asked, confused as to why her friends were looking at her like that. 

"That is probably the friendliest you've ever been to someone you just met." Sam said.

"No it's not."

"Uh, yeah it is. Remember how you were when we first met?" 

"When we first met, I punched you in the face." Peggy seemed almost emotionless, except for the little but of pride she felt for when she thought about that day. 

"Yeah, and you hardly smiled at me for the first three months! And within the first three minutes of meeting her, you've already given her two smiles." Sam said, using his hands for emphasis. 

"That's... not true?" Peggy said, but it sounded more like a question. 

"Hate to interrupt," Steve said, "But you did smile twice at her. When you met me, you only smiled the one time. And it took quite a while before I could get a second smile."

"If I do recall correctly, the first time I smiled at you was because Rumlow was being an ass, as usually to the other kids and you decided to stand up to them and instantly took a fist to the face." Peggy said, leaning forward a little more. 

"Ah, yeah, the first time I lost a tooth." Steve sat back, remember the memory. 

"I don't remember that," Sam said, "Was I there when that happened?" 

"No, when that happened we were in, what, second grade?" Steve looked towards Peggy for confirmation  


"Kindergarten, actually, "And we meet Sam in first grade."

"Ah yes. Remember when we met, Sam?"

"Yeah, you were hanging upside down from the monkey bars. Stark dared you, saying that it was impossible to hang upside down for longer than 5 minutes. And you, of course, were never one to back down from a dare, even now. Just as you were about to reach five minutes, your legs gave out and you fell off, puking all over yourself."

They all laughed. "Yeah, not one of my better moments." Steve said between laughs.

"Chocolate milkshake," Angie said, suddenly appearing with their drinks, putting Steve's in front of him. "Vanilla," She placed down Sam's in front of him, "And for English, a Strawberry Oreo milkshake," She put down Peggy's milkshake, a grin on her face .

They all thanked her as she left, silently ignoring that when Peggy first took a sip of her drink, she looked over at Angie, who was leading against the counter, and smile, Angie sending Peggy a small wink. 

Their food soon arrived and they continues to crack jokes about some of the other things from their past. 

~~

Steve pulled into the garage, the rumble of his motorcycle the only sound. He turned it off, the engine slowing down until the garage was completely silent, aside from the noise going on outside. New York City, the city that never sleeps, really lives up to its name.

He took his helmet off, running his hand through his helmet hair, and got off his bike. He locked his bike, helmet under one hand, backpack over the other, and made his way out of the garage and into their apartment building. 

He raced to the elevator, debating whether or not to go up to the roof, and decided to just go home. He and his mom lived together on the eighteenth floor floor of their building. According to his mom, this apartment was the first time Sarah had lived on her own, minus Steve. 

"Ma? I'm home." Steve said as he entered their apartment, setting his helmet on the ground by the door and his keys on the table. 

"Steve? Is that you?" Steve walked into his mom's room, where she sat on top of her bed, still in her nursed uniform. 

"Yeah, Ma, it's me." Steve sat down at the edge of the bed, pushing his glasses back up. 

"Out with Sam and Peggy, again?" 

"Yeah, we went out to Martinelli's again after SC."

"How are they doing? I haven't seen them in a while."

"They're doing just fine. Sam's still pining and I think Peggy's onto a new crush." Sarah knew that Sam and Peggy weren't straight, something Steve had confided in her not too long ago, with their permission of course, but she didn't know that Steve also wasn't. It wasn't that he was embarrassed or anything, he really wanted to tell his mom, but it never seemed like the right time. Plus, if he was being completely honest, he was a little bit scared.

"Oh really? Who's it with?" Sarah always liked to hear what was going on in Steve's life. It was one of her favorite distractions.

"One of the new waitress' down at Martinelli's. Her name's Angie. They were smiling at each other nearby the entire time. She even gave Peggy a nickname: English. Truth be told, it was really adorable." Steve gave a fond smile at the memory. 

"That's sweet. I hope it works out."

"Yeah, me too," Steve took a deep breath, "Anyway, how are you, Ma? You doing okay?"

"Yeah, Stevie, I'm doing just," She let out a weak cough, "just fine. Don't you worry about me, okay? That's my job." She smiled at her son. 

"Whatever you say, Ma." Steve said, getting up from the bed and heading towards the door. 

"Oh, before I forget," Steve stopped and turned around, still listening, as he leaned against the doorway, "Someone stopped by to drop something off for you. A James or Bucky something. I put it on the kitchen counter for you."

"Okay, thanks Ma." Steve furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to why Barnes would come to his house, what he could've dropped off, and how the hell he knew where he lived.

Sitting on the kitchen counter, on top of some old mail and magazines, was Steve's sketchbook. The most recent one, at least. The same one that Steve was drawing in today, mere hours ago. He must've forgotten it today in the classroom when he left. 

He took the sketchbook in his hands, flipping through it to make sure there were no changes or damages to it. It wouldn't have been the first time. On the very last page, he found, was handwriting that he's sure was not his. 

_ Left this in the classroom, _

_thought I'd deliver it to it's owner._

_-Bucky_

_P.S. If you're wondering how_

_I got your address, it's cause it's written_

_on the front of your_ _sketchbook._

 

Steve flipped the sketchbook to the front. Yup, Barnes was right. On the back of the front cover was written in Steve's handwriting: ' _Steve Rogers' Sketchbook - If_ _found, please return to this address or call this number.'_ and below Steve had listed his real address and phone number. 

He flipped his sketchbook to the last page drawn in, the one containing the rough comic of Sam and T'Challa. He looked at the ending, fake-Sam turning away to chase after T'Challa, something he thinks the real Sam ought to do. 

Steve turned around and headed to his room, the sketchbook still open, deciding he wanted to either try and finish the comic, or color in what he had drawn. He would decide when he gets there. 

He gets to his room and heads straight to his desk, deciding to try and do both tonight, starting with finishing up the drawing portion of it and then moving onto the coloring bit. 

Steve fell asleep hours later, his head on his sketchbook, a pencil in his hand, and his alarm just starting to ring, telling him it's time to wake up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!  
> finally got the second chapter up. sorry it took so long. I got other story ideas and thought I'd be able to get those down quickly but I forgot I can take forever to write.  
> hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> kudos and comments are loved and appreciated (just like you! <3)  
> tags will be added as the story goes on, but if there are tags that you think I should add, feel free to comment them!
> 
> ~n


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